For years, western audiences (and even some eastern) have been exposed to only two operational 5th generation fighters, Lockheed-Martin's F-22, and their F-35 lightning. Many people have seen these as the pinnacle of fighter technology. That all changed when the Sukhoi T-50 made its first appearances in early 2010, emerging explosively into a world dominated by American fighters. There is little data available on the fighter and even less information about its performance statistics, but going on Russia's experience with aviation design in the past, and the features seen so far on the Pak Fa, this new fighter is clearly no pushover.

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The roots of the Pak Fa program go back to the 1990's when rumours of a western 5th generation fighter, the F-22 Raptor, were circulated and confirmed. To keep up with the new threat from the west, Russia began approaching its top aircraft designers, Mikoyan and Sukhoi especially, in an effort to develop a suitable 5th generation fighter of indigenous Russian design. Sukhoi was chosen in 2002 due to having a superior design that could be built and put into service in a shorter period of time than its competitors. Sukhoi has always specialized in heavy multi-role fighter aircraft capable of securing air or ground superiority in any environment.

The prototype aircraft was supposed to be ready around 2006-7, but the programs overwhelming cost slowed development considerably. Sukhoi used the majority of the budget on expensive electronic suites to keep the aircraft on a level playing field with the F-22 Raptor.

When the prototype was built, the infamous T-50, it featured delta wings, dual classified engines which allowed thrust-vectoring, and various stealth features. The prototype flew in "factory colours" (Mostly uncamoflauged and unpainted), and had a bubble-style cockpit canopy. It first flew on the 29th of January, 2010, with pilot Sergei Bogdan at the controls. Although the first flight was purely a test run, Sukhoi stated that they were extremely pleased with the level of performance the T-50 demonstrated. As well as aerodynamics, the landing gear was also tested on the flight.

Upon entering service, Sukhoi's new thoroughbred will incorporate a variety of features, and will boast an advanced electronics suite, stealth capabilities, and especially an assortment of blistering missiles. Internal weapons bays will host a variety of advanced air-to-air missiles to prevent them from being detected by radar. The bay doors will retract when the missile is ready to be fired and close soon afterwards. The two classified engines seen on the prototype will likely be featured in the operational versions; however, the un-classified Saturn 117S engines may still be utilized. Either way the Pak Fa will be able to use vectored thrust to complete very tight turns and take off at shorter distances. Like the F-22, the Pak Fa is expected to be able to cruise at very high speeds without afterburner, although the Saturn 117S engines speculated to power the aircraft incorporate afterburning thrust. Afterburning wastes fuel and therefore can only be done for a short period of time. The Pak Fai is approximately 20 meters long from the tip of the nose to the bottom of the tail, with a formidable delta wing spanning 14 meters.

Sukhoi originally planned to create the Pak Fa and all subsequent variants without collaborating with any foreign companies. Recently, Sukhoi apparently decided to revoke this stance on developing the Pak Fa and announced that not only would the FGFA's be co-built and co-designed by the Indian HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) and Sukhoi, but that HAL would help to build parts for the Pak Fa, such as electronics. However, the work is not divided equally between the two companies and Sukhoi will remain the dominant force in the project.

The Indian FGFA is speculated to be a two-seater aircraft based on the Pak Fa platform. It will be a heavy fighter and incorporate indigenous Indian electronics systems and equipment unless significantly more advanced Russian technology is available. Very few unclassified examples of the Pak Fa exist, in the T-50 prototype form, and only one T-50 has so far been making flights.

Compared to the other 5th generation fighters of the world, it is extremely likely that the Pak Fa will be a very beneficial aircraft for Russia and will show off Sukhoi's skills in the aircraft development sector. The Pak-Fa program was originally initiated to fill Russia's air power "gap". For this reason it was slightly rushed, though with good reason, in order to prevent any consequences that may result of not being able to compete with more advanced aircraft fielded by hostiles. Due to these reasons, and the released information about the Pak Fa's performance, it is likely that it will perform similarly to the F-22. However, once Russia has fielded the Pak Fa, they will undoubtedly be able to spare more time on the creation of future fifth generation fighters. Apart from Russia, India will also order around 50 Pak Fa's, which will allow them to field 5th generation fighters while their medium combat aircraft (Similar in concept to the F-35) and FGFA are under development.

Thanks to agreeing to export the Pak Fa, Russia will be the first country with access to the massive market for heavy, top-of-the-line 5th generation fighters. Even though China has offered the J-20 for export, and the USA the F-35, wealthier countries will likely select the Pak Fa over the others since it will have much greater performance, especially in the air superiority role. The Pak Fa also has a ground attack capability, and although it is not specialized for the attack role like the F-35, it can still pack a formidable punch.